Mystery in Cair Paravel
by LadyAlambiel
Summary: There's a mystery in Cair Paravel. Who's responsible for it all? Friend or foe? That's what the Kings and General Oreius want to know.
1. One: Agitato

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: There's a mystery in Cair Paravel. Who's responsible for it all? Friend or foe? That's what the Kings and General Oreius want to know.

A/N: Trying something new. Hope you enjoy it! This is part of my _A Light in the Darkness_ universe but can be read as a standalone.

**Agitato  
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1 Quickening 1003

It was still and quiet in the early morning hours as some of Cair Paravel's residents, such as General Oreius, were already preparing for their day and other residents, such as the Kings, were hoping to steal just a few more minutes worth of sleep. But, even as King Peter woke and then tried to prod his brother into waking, those residents already up and about were realizing that something was missing. Or rather, a number of people who should have been at their various posts were missing. General Oreius ordered a search of the Cair, but all they found were more people missing from their posts, both military and civilian.

Peter and Edmund exchanged dumbfounded looks as they listened to the General's report. Peter looked back at the stern Centaur, wondering if this was some type of joke, as he questioned, "What do you mean all the ladies in Cair Paravel have vanished?"

General Oreius gave him an impassive look and quietly answered, "Just as I told you, we cannot find any females inside the Cair. Military, civilian, mares, fillies, all of them are gone whether they are newly born or ancient."

Edmund suddenly stiffened, "Wait, when you say "any" does that include..."

Peter felt alarm sweep over him as he raced around the General, with Edmund on his heels. He flung open Susan's doors first: Empty. Then he ran to Lucy, sweet little Lucy's quarters, and flung the doors open. He gulped as fear wrapped itself around his heart. "They're...they're gone."

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! So, I took a little break from Concealed and Don't Judge a Book in order to bring you this little plot bunny... Any guesses as to what's going on? Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this opener.**


	2. Two: Marcato

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: There's a mystery in Cair Paravel. Who's responsible for it all? Friend or foe? That's what the Kings and General Oreius want to know.

A/N: Trying something new. Hope you enjoy it! This is part of my _A Light in the Darkness_ universe but can be read as a standalone.

**Marcato**

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Peter hurried into the courtyard, "General Oreius, where do we start looking for them?"

The Centaur watched him with solemn eyes, "We should spread out from the Cair and search for signs of either the ladies or perhaps signs of their captors if they have somehow been abducted. North, West, and South."

Peter nodded, trying not to imagine what possible horrible fates had befallen his sisters. The search parties quickly filed out of the main gates and then split up. Peter took the northern search party, Edmund took the western, and Oreius took the southern.

They had been searching for hours. Peter and the searchers with him were carefully combing the area but not a single sign had been found... He was about to summon a messenger to send to Edmund and Oreius when he stopped short. A glance at the other soldiers confirmed that they also heard the faint noise. Peter set his hand on Rhindon's hilt and curbed the urge to rush forward. Instead, he proceeded slowly with the other searchers toward the noise...

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Edmund grumbled to himself, "How is it we can only find hints of tracks that lead us in circles instead of to finding the girls?"

Philip looked back at him, "We will find them, King Edmund. The tracks must lead somewhere and if we do not find the missing females, your brother or General Oreius will."

Edmund sighed as he ducked under a tree branch, "Su's fifteen, Lucy's eleven, and they are probably lost."

"Dame Sepphora is most likely with them."

"Kat gets lost in the Cair! On a regular basis, I might add."

Philip fixed one liquid brown eye on him, "Don't worry, Edmund, they will all be found."

Edmund played with Philip's mane before he quietly asked, "Aren't you worried about Sarah?"

The Horse snorted softly, "I worry. But I also know my sister is a grown mare and she's more than capable of protecting her filly. But, I'm not convinced that there's a need for protection."

Edmund frowned in thought as they continued hunting the tracks, which had suddenly become clearer and were angling north. Maybe Philip was right, but maybe he wasn't...

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Oreius frowned at the tracks, which they had first come across after two hours of searching. They had started in the south, but the tracks were leading north and Oreius kept his search party moving. He signaled the searchers and they once again marched along the trail. Something was odd about the entire situation, but he wasn't sure what exactly was bothering him most: the disappearances or the appearance of a clear trail to follow...

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay, any guesses as to what Peter is hearing and who's leading Edmund and Oreius up north? Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.**


	3. Three: Scherzando

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: There's a mystery in Cair Paravel. Who's responsible for it all? Friend or foe? That's what the Kings and General Oreius want to know.

A/N: Trying something new. Hope you enjoy it! This is part of my _A Light in the Darkness_ universe but can be read as a standalone.

**Scherzando**

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Oreius was struggling to hide his irritation at the situation. The tracks had abruptly disappeared an hour earlier and now he and the rest of the searchers could find no hint of where the ladies had gone. His tail smacked against his flanks as he stood under the eaves of a beech tree. They had come across and joined King Edmund's party not ten minutes earlier, but they had found nothing but tracks that also abruptly disappeared shortly before the two search parties had come across each other.

"General? What do you think is going on here?"

Oreius looked down at King Edmund and pawed the ground with a hoof before answering, "I am not certain. However, I believe this is not some sort of attack against Narnia."

The dark colt frowned, "That's what Philip thinks, but how do we know for sure?"

"We cannot know for certain until we have found them."

"If Kat's behind this..."

Oreius snorted, "Then Dame Sepphora will answer to me and I will make sure she understands that a prank of this measure and nature is unacceptable."

King Edmund looked skeptical but a faint noise caught their attention before he could say anything. Oreius signaled the searchers to resume tracking as King Edmund swung himself into Philip's saddle. They followed the noise for an hour until they ran into King Peter and his party.

The High King looked faintly disgruntled, "I thought you were supposed to be to the south and west."

King Edmund quietly protested, "We were until we each found tracks that led us north. Was that you making the noise, Peter?"

The High King shook his head, but the faint noise interrupted again before he could voice his protest. Oreius didn't show his own exasperation at the entire scenario, but he was skeptical of what they would find as they once again began tracking the noise. Dusk had fallen by the time the noise finally grew stronger. They were nearing a clearing when the noise became discernible as music and laughter, feminine laughter. The light of a bonfire and torches could be seen through the trees, casting enough light that Oreius saw the Kings exchange incredulous looks.

Stepping through the trees, Oreius could see all of the ladies of the Cair were in the clearing, which had a number of pavilions and tables set up on the far side of the bonfire. All of the ladies had been feasting, visiting, dancing, or playing the music. They all ceased when the searchers stepped into the clearing and then three of the ladies came out of the crowd and curtsied to them. Queen Susan was across from the High King, Queen Lucy across from King Edmund, and across from Oreius himself was Katerina Alambiel who flashed him a cheeky smile. Queen Susan smiled, "Welcome, my lords, brothers and cousins, thy search is ended."

Queen Lucy fairly danced in place as she giggled, "Come, oh noble warriors, you have prov'd your worth, one and all."

Katerina Alambiel winked at him as she gestured to the gathering behind the three ladies. "Thy search ended, thy worth prov'd, pray permit thy ladies, wives, sisters, daughters, friends, to 'tend thee and quench thy thirst, thy hunger, thy wish for the far more pleasant company of thy ladies with the feast thou dost see before thee and regale us with the tales of thy great deeds." The Queens extended their hands to their brothers and Katerina Alambiel held her hand out to him as she finished speaking, "Come and join the feast, lords and noble warriors."

With that the three ladies turned and led them by the hand to the large feast. The other ladies came forward and greeted the rest of the searchers, and soon music was once again playing and they returned to feasting and dancing. The Kings whispered furiously to their sisters until they were distracted as the Queens handed them food. Glancing to his left, Oreius raised an eyebrow at Katerina Alambiel, who leaned close and whispered, "Tuulea told us this was an ancient tradition that naturally fell out of practice after, Jadis, the Queen of Psychos took over and, well, I agreed to the whole speech and hostess thing just because this is one of the best ready-made pranks ever. I also enjoy the irony of it occurring on the first of Quickening, also known as the first of April." Oreius shook his head slightly as he took another drink of his wine. He could only hope that this one time would satisfy because he did not want to spend a day tracking all the ladies of Cair Paravel down again...

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A pounding at the door drew Oreius from the dream of a memory. As soon as he answered the door, one of his lieutenants quietly reported, "All of the ladies seem to have vanished from the Cair, including the Queens and Dame Sepphora."

"Assemble the searchers in the courtyard and wake the Kings if they are not already awake." The lieutenant gave a curt nod then hurried to fulfill his orders. Oreius pulled on a tunic and began strapping on his armor and swords. A glance at the calendar on his desk confirmed it was the first of Quickening. He sighed, wondering if the ladies had gone to the west or the north this year since last year they had been in the south. Once again, as they had every year since the tradition had been revived, the males of Cair Paravel had to hunt down the females who had vanished from Cair Paravel.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay, and so ends the mystery. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.**

**In case, anyone is curious, the chapter titles are from Italian tempo mood markings: Agitato: Agitated, with implied quickness; Marcato: marching tempo, marked with emphasis; Scherzando: playfully.**


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